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CNN Live Saturday

Bush Meets With Blair

Aired September 07, 2002 - 17:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is trying to make a case for leadership change in Iraq. He may soon have help persuading international leaders. Mr. Bush is meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair today at Camp David, and CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us from the White House with the very latest. Suzanne, President Bush made his case to reporters, but next step for him is making the case in front of the U.N. General Assembly?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are just beginning to start their talks, about three hours they are expected to discuss Iraq. They spoke with reporters just moments ago, both of them emphasizing that they say there is evidence to prove that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the world. They point to a U.N. report, they say, that has satellite photos that shows fresh construction on weapons sites where inspectors once were inside of the country. They point to this as evidence to show that Saddam Hussein again is trying to rebuild his weapons program.

Prime Minister Blair saying the threat is real. President Bush saying that this is a new kind of war. Both of them pointing to the fact that Saddam Hussein has broken his agreements with the United Nations before. They believe that he'll do it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The one thing that no one can deny is that Saddam Hussein is in breach of the United Nations resolutions on weapons of mass destruction -- that is, chemical, biological, nuclear weapons. That that poses a threat not just to the region because there's no way if those weapons were used, that the threat would simply stay in the region. People understand that. Now we've got to make sure that we work out a way forward that, of course, mobilizes the maximum support, but does so on the basis of removing a threat that the United Nations itself has determined as a threat to the whole of the world.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no way that I could have possibly known what we're going to have to deal with. I'm a citizen of a country that has had these two vast oceans protecting us for all these years. You know, we were safe. People couldn't come and attack us, so we thought.

Of course, Hawaii got attacked, but it's not a part of our mainland. We felt secure here in the country. There's no way we could have possibly envisioned that the battlefield would change. And it has, and that's why we got to deal with all the threats. That's why Americans must understand that when a tyrant like Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction, it not only threatens the neighborhood in which he lives, it not only threatens the region, it can threaten the United States of America or Great Britain, for that matter.

The battlefield has changed. We're in a new kind of war. And we got to recognize that. There's no way I could have possibly predicted that future. I'm honored to be the president, and so long as I am the president, I'm going to work hard to make America safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Both President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair are both engaged in a strategy to win international support, not only to send those weapons inspectors back into Iraq, to make sure that Saddam Hussein complies with those inspections, but also arguing that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the world, that he needs to be overthrown, that he should be removed from power. Both leaders calling the head of Russia as well as France within the last 24 hours to make that argument. The president is going to have a series of one-on-one meetings with world leaders coming up this week here in Washington and in New York, Detroit as well -- Portugal, India, Japan, among others. He's also going to go on Thursday before the United Nations General Assembly and make a speech.

It's a 30-minute speech. It's supposed to be the defining moment that is, according to White House aides, to lay out this case before the international community. He will give an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein, saying that he must comply to weapons inspections or face the consequences. Also, the president and the Bush administration is really looking at crafting a U.N. Security Council resolution, a resolution that would put a deadline for Saddam Hussein to comply to those weapons inspections or face some sort of punitive action -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you, from the White House.

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